Chapter 1

Aiden had just parked the car, he was about to join some drivers at a cafe, enjoying a cup of coffee. But Duke called him before he could sit down.

"Okay." He hurried back to the office, up to the fifth floor.

Aiden knocked on the door before entering. Duke was busy with his computer.

"Get me some coffee."

Why did Aiden have to go up to the fifth floor when Duke could just tell him over the phone.

"Americano?"

"Yeah," Duke replied lazily.

Sometimes, Aiden was confused why little things like this had to be done by him. When there were secretaries or interns. 

He returned to Duke's office, placing the coffee on the guest table. Duke's office was quite large, and besides his desk, there was another table to welcome investors and priority clients.

"Bring it here, why put it there." Duke signed some files.

The problem was that there were a lot of documents on Duke's desk, and he was afraid the coffee would spill and wet important files. Last time Aiden put coffee on the man's desk, he got a lot of insults.

Aiden set down the coffee carefully.

"Aiden," Duke called when Aiden opened the door. "This isn't what I want."

"It's Americano."

"Get it from Starbuck's."

When Aiden reached for the coffee, Duke deliberately held the cup so the lid was slightly loose and the coffee inside shook, a few drops soaking the table and their hands.

"You've never been good at your job."

Aiden was silent with his mouth slightly open. Duke was deliberately pissing him off, Aiden had to restrain himself otherwise Duke would take advantage of the situation.

"What are you doing? Clean it up."

Aiden grabbed some tissues, drying the remaining coffee on the table and floor. Duke hissed in annoyance making Aiden's ears feel burn.

"Hurry up, I'll get sleepy if I don't get coffee."

He drove some distance away from the office, trying to pull himself together. His breathing was heavy, his jaw hardened.

When he arrived at Starbuck's, he ordered a cold drink, his head feeling heavy. This time Duke had gone too far, he had to think of a way to get back at the man.

After chilling out for a while, Aiden returned to the office.

"Sorry, sir, there's no Starbuck's nearby, I'll have to detour to buy one on another street." Aiden smiled falsely, acting like a kind-hearted employee who was always quick to do anything.

Aiden was still standing after placing the coffee on Duke's desk. Aiden waited for orders because he was sure this wouldn't end like that.

But the coffee, which Aiden thought was expensive, was poured into his face instead. Aiden screamed a little from the heat and shock. Some of it ran down his neck, and through his shirt. 

"It's already cold, how long have you been buying this coffee."

"I told you there's no Starbuck's nearby." Aiden's voice rose. His face was red with anger and the heat of the coffee.

"You're starting to dare to be impolite, you feel your current position is higher than me." Duke rolled up some papers.

"Have you forgotten that you are just a driver?" Duke hit the roll of paper at Aiden's head, which only made Aiden angrier. 

"Don't look at me like that, I could hit you, but I can't do it here." Duke knew there were surveillance cameras here.

"You really are a young man with no shame, I brought you here so you could have a better life but you're trying to make my relationship with Eri worse." 

Even though he was surprised, Aiden tried to remain calm. "There's no way I have such evil intentions."

Eri's father laughed amusingly at that line. "You think I'm stupid. You're fired."

Aiden approached. "Sir, please, I didn't mean it that way, please don't do this, I'm sorry." He had lived by begging, now he was also asking for forgiveness.

"You can go."

Aiden did everything Duke ordered, and he never complained or got angry. But Duke's actions earlier were indeed insolent.

"Please give me one more chance, I'll buy you a new coffee."

Duke laughed, he knew very well when Aiden was serious and when Aiden was acting.

"You misunderstand, I'm telling the truth, I never tried to influence Eri to be disrespectful."

Duke looked at Aiden sarcastically, sneering at Aiden's inconsistent story. "I never bring personal reasons to the office."

Duke used to believe that Aiden was a nice young man. But ever since Eri started dating Aiden, he changed his mind. As a result, Eri became defiant, yelling at her parents. She never listened to her mother's advice.

"But it's enough to show that you're incompetent at work." Duke placed the iPad near where Aiden stood.

Aiden looked at the dots with the Starbuck's logo on the digital map.

"I don't understand."

"There's obviously a Strarbuck's closest to the office." Duke pointed to a spot, "No need to go by car."

"You are deliberately stalling, you want to have fun outside."

"No, I-I didn't."

"You bought far away so you could poison me, didn't you?"

Aiden shook his head. "No, there's no way I would do that."

"You think I don't know, you forget what field I work in, don't you know that almost all the businesses and companies in this district make loans to this bank."

"I'm sure you don't understand, you didn't even graduate from high school. You're poor and stupid. Wouldn't it be better to be trash on the streets."

Aiden knelt down, his eyes glazed over. He felt helpless, even though he was upset and hurt by Duke's words.

"I'm sorry, I apologize." Aiden looked at Duke with a look of fear in his eyes. He didn't want to go back to the streets.

"Get out of my room, I will not compromise with a low-class person like you." 

Aiden clenched his fists, he stood up with a heavy weight on his shoulders, walking towards the door.

"Hey."

Aiden turned his head, tears in his eyes.

"Leave the car keys, don't you dare take them away."

Aiden put the keys on the table, then walked out with his chest tight. Once outside, he looked back at the high-rise building once more.

Aiden was such a mess, he pulled his hair, took off the suit, and unbuttoned his shirt because he couldn't breathe. Walking in the expensive leather shoes Eri had given him.

"He should have paid me more."

Aiden met the three men in an alley. He walked over, confronting them. Aiden no longer cared about his life.

But when someone pulled out a knife, he changed his mind. Aiden ran away.

Aiden pushed the trash can, the three men jumped. Aiden turned into a narrow, dark alley. He stayed there, catching his breath. When he felt safe, Aiden reversed direction.

He was still running a little when a car drove up from the side and hit him. He was thrown onto the road, feeling pain in his back.

A slightly fat man got out of the car, wearing a suit and cowboy hat. Sunglasses and a tobacco cigarette.

"You must have a grudge."

Aiden tried to look at the man's face, but his head was dizzy and his vision was a bit blurry.

"It's time to stop holding on to anger." The man slipped a card into Aiden's shirt pocket.